Take interest in future of public lands

Published: Thursday, March 21, 2013 at 4:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, March 20, 2013 at 6:44 p.m.

Residents who care about the Pisgah and Nantahala national forests should tell the U.S. Forest Service how they would like to see the lands managed in the coming years.

Judging from the turnout Monday at a meeting the agency held in Brevard, people are as interested as ever in the public lands that form the backbone of our recreation and tourism economy. More than 130 sportsmen, environmentalists, scouts and other forest users turned out to give their thoughts on the future of the more than million acres of mountain forests.

It’s been almost 20 years since the management plan for the forests was last revised, in 1994. Those revisions came after many folks across the mountains protested a 1987 forest plan that called for significant increases in logging and road building across the forests. Largely as a result of that outcry, the Forest Service scaled back logging and road building and curtailed its use of “clear-cutting,” the practice of cutting all trees over many acres.

The 1976 National Forest Management Act requires officials to update plans for forests every 15 years. The plans set “desired future conditions” and standards for achieving objectives in different parts of the forests. Wildlife habitat, timber, backcountry recreation, wilderness solitude and, increasingly important, clean water are among the sometimes competing goals.

Pisgah and Nantahala have long been prized for outdoor recreation, and this has grown increasingly important in recent decades. Mountain bikers, paddlers, botanists, photographers and other outdoor enthusiasts join the hikers, hunters, anglers, equestrians and campers who have long enjoyed the forests.

The decades since the last full forest plan revision have seen a great increase in state-owned public lands in the region, including DuPont State Forest and Gorges and Chimney Rock state parks. Yet the national forests remain the biggest chunk of nature available for public use across the mountains, comprising more than double the acreage of the next largest parcel, Great Smoky Mountains National Park (521,086 acres, including 276,343 in North Carolina).

As North Carolina and the Southeast grow increasing more urban and suburban, the need for places to get outdoors and away from the madding crowd will only continue to grow. Cheryl Calvert of Mills River, a member of the Back Country Horsemen of Pisgah, spoke for many forest users when she told how she cherishes her rides in the forest, viewing scenery and wildlife. “I really appreciate the opportunity because there’s less and less places to do it,” she said.

Echoing her comments was Tom England, a ruffed grouse hunter from Macon County. He said “No Trespassing” signs now cover much of the private land he used to roam as a youngster. “The national forest is the only place where I can hunt and fish and shoot,” he said. “We’ve got to share it, because it’s the only place left.”

Information on the forest plan revision is available at www.fs.usda.gov/goto/nfsnc/nprevision. Send written comments via email to NCplanrevision@fs.fed.us or mail them to Nantahala-Pisgah Plan Revision, 160 Zillicoa St., Suite A, Asheville, N.C., 28801.

<p>Residents who care about the Pisgah and Nantahala national forests should tell the U.S. Forest Service how they would like to see the lands managed in the coming years.</p><p>Judging from the turnout Monday at a meeting the agency held in Brevard, people are as interested as ever in the public lands that form the backbone of our recreation and tourism economy. More than 130 sportsmen, environmentalists, scouts and other forest users turned out to give their thoughts on the future of the more than million acres of mountain forests.</p><p>It’s been almost 20 years since the management plan for the forests was last revised, in 1994. Those revisions came after many folks across the mountains protested a 1987 forest plan that called for significant increases in logging and road building across the forests. Largely as a result of that outcry, the Forest Service scaled back logging and road building and curtailed its use of clear-cutting, the practice of cutting all trees over many acres.</p><p>The 1976 National Forest Management Act requires officials to update plans for forests every 15 years. The plans set desired future conditions and standards for achieving objectives in different parts of the forests. Wildlife habitat, timber, backcountry recreation, wilderness solitude and, increasingly important, clean water are among the sometimes competing goals.</p><p>Pisgah and Nantahala have long been prized for outdoor recreation, and this has grown increasingly important in recent decades. Mountain bikers, paddlers, botanists, photographers and other outdoor enthusiasts join the hikers, hunters, anglers, equestrians and campers who have long enjoyed the forests.</p><p>The decades since the last full forest plan revision have seen a great increase in state-owned public lands in the region, including DuPont State Forest and Gorges and Chimney Rock state parks. Yet the national forests remain the biggest chunk of nature available for public use across the mountains, comprising more than double the acreage of the next largest parcel, Great Smoky Mountains National Park (521,086 acres, including 276,343 in North Carolina).</p><p>As North Carolina and the Southeast grow increasing more urban and suburban, the need for places to get outdoors and away from the madding crowd will only continue to grow. Cheryl Calvert of Mills River, a member of the Back Country Horsemen of Pisgah, spoke for many forest users when she told how she cherishes her rides in the forest, viewing scenery and wildlife. I really appreciate the opportunity because there’s less and less places to do it, she said.</p><p>Echoing her comments was Tom England, a ruffed grouse hunter from Macon County. He said No Trespassing signs now cover much of the private land he used to roam as a youngster. The national forest is the only place where I can hunt and fish and shoot, he said. We’ve got to share it, because it’s the only place left.</p><p>Information on the forest plan revision is available at www.fs.usda.gov/goto/nfsnc/nprevision. Send written comments via email to NCplanrevision@fs.fed.us or mail them to Nantahala-Pisgah Plan Revision, 160 Zillicoa St., Suite A, Asheville, N.C., 28801.</p>